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Blue Sea Systems Add-A-Battery Setup Questions


Moondawg101

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No, not at all.  But whatever side you put the feed from the alternator on is also the battery that will always be charging when the boat is running, vs the battery on the other side of the acr that needs the relay to close to get the feed from the alternator.

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8 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

No, not at all.  But whatever side you put the feed from the alternator on is also the battery that will always be charging when the boat is running, vs the battery on the other side of the acr that needs the relay to close to get the feed from the alternator.

What about on the ACR?  Does it matter whether the block goes to A or B?

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you could RTFM?

"* Because the SI-ACR is Dual Sensing, terminals A and B are interchangeable. ACR function will not be affected by reversal of the starting and house batteries versus the diagram"

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3 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

you could RTFM?

"* Because the SI-ACR is Dual Sensing, terminals A and B are interchangeable. ACR function will not be affected by reversal of the starting and house batteries versus the diagram"

Ok, thanks again.  You have helped more than you know.  Appreciate your time and knowledge.

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On 5/18/2020 at 9:42 AM, jtryon said:

but now i'm questioning whether the ACR is working or not. 

The ACR only controls the alternator feed to the house bank, BUT, if its not opening, it will stay combined, allowing the house loads to draw form both banks. 

With a volt meter, you want to see charge voltage with engine running, on the main cranking side ALWAYS. Then charge voltage on the house side as long as the house loads are not heavy or the house bank is not supper low. Then with the charge taken away, you want to watch for the ACR to open and not let house loads draw through it. Watch the green light on the ACR at the same time as your volt meter. 

Quote

i don't have the three 16ga wires at the bottom of the ACR connected; are those required for the ACR to work or are they just for the LED function?

But id connect the ground control to the ACR first. I bet it will work then. 

Edited by MLA
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1 hour ago, Moondawg101 said:

@shawndoggy. Is it necessary to use marine grade wire or can I get the wire at Home Depot?

I don't think Home Depot sells wire of that gauge, and if they do it's going to be home wire, not even automotive.  The home wire tends to either be solid or have way fewer strands which makes radiusing it very hard.  

Me personally, yeah I'd buy marine rated (tinned) wire from someplace like genuinedealz.com (legit website despite sketchy name).  Barring that, oxygen free copper audio power wire would be OK (but it's not tinned).  Darvex.com has pretty good prices on stinger branded wire, which is high quality (and is what I use on the stereo side even on my boat).

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1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

I don't think Home Depot sells wire of that gauge, and if they do it's going to be home wire, not even automotive.  The home wire tends to either be solid or have way fewer strands which makes radiusing it very hard.  

Me personally, yeah I'd buy marine rated (tinned) wire from someplace like genuinedealz.com (legit website despite sketchy name).  Barring that, oxygen free copper audio power wire would be OK (but it's not tinned).  Darvex.com has pretty good prices on stinger branded wire, which is high quality (and is what I use on the stereo side even on my boat).

Thank you.  A couple more questions: 1) is the stereo ground block in the diagram just a buss bar and 2) I noticed your diagram doesn't use the big fuses like most of the others I have seen.  Are they not necessary?

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1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

I don't think Home Depot sells wire of that gauge, and if they do it's going to be home wire, not even automotive.  The home wire tends to either be solid or have way fewer strands which makes radiusing it very hard.  

Me personally, yeah I'd buy marine rated (tinned) wire from someplace like genuinedealz.com (legit website despite sketchy name).  Barring that, oxygen free copper audio power wire would be OK (but it's not tinned).  Darvex.com has pretty good prices on stinger branded wire, which is high quality (and is what I use on the stereo side even on my boat).

Thank you.  A couple more questions: 1) is the stereo ground block in the diagram just a buss bar and 2) I noticed your diagram doesn't use the big fuses like most of the others I have seen.  Are they not necessary?

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big fuses where?  I don't fuse between the ACR and the switch or between the batteries and the switch.  After the switch, between house loads and switch or batteries and switch there should be a fuse or a breaker.  That said more fuses aren't going to hurt you if you wan to go that way, and I'm just "some dude on the internet," so if you burn your boat down... you probably should've had a fuse.

distro block would be something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Stereo-Distribution-Block-Ground/dp/B078SCQJNM/ref=sr_1_34?dchild=1&keywords=power+ground+stereo+block&qid=1590082208&sr=8-34 (just an example... not necessarily this one in particular)

Edited by shawndoggy
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59 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

big fuses where?  I don't fuse between the ACR and the switch or between the batteries and the switch.  After the switch, between house loads and switch or batteries and switch there should be a fuse or a breaker.  That said more fuses aren't going to hurt you if you wan to go that way, and I'm just "some dude on the internet," so if you burn your boat down... you probably should've had a fuse.

distro block would be something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Stereo-Distribution-Block-Ground/dp/B078SCQJNM/ref=sr_1_34?dchild=1&keywords=power+ground+stereo+block&qid=1590082208&sr=8-34 (just an example... not necessarily this one in particular)

Lol!  I promise not to hold you liable.  I should have said breaker, not fuse.  All clear now.  Thanks again!

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formulaben

And also clean all those terminals please...a fair amount of corrosion there which may cause issue down the road.  After cleaning spray them with battery terminal protectant.

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@shawndoggy If the wire to the house and the wire from the engine block are both 2 awg, and my connection from the switch to the battery is 2 awg, do I have to use 2 awg between the switch and ACR or would 4 awg work there?

Edited by Moondawg101
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8 hours ago, Moondawg101 said:

@shawndoggy If the wire to the house and the wire from the engine block are both 2 awg, and my connection from the switch to the battery is 2 awg, do I have to use 2 awg between the switch and ACR or would 4 awg work there?

The loads passing between the battery(s) and switch and between the switch and ACR are likely going to be different. So they would not require the same gauge, although there is no harm in using a larger then required gauge. The loads between the switch and ACR are going to be based on the alternator's output and cable length. The gauge required for between the battery(s) and switch, would be dependent upon the loads drawing off that battery(s) through the switch. 

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11 minutes ago, MLA said:

The loads passing between the battery(s) and switch and between the switch and ACR are likely going to be different. So they would not require the same gauge, although there is no harm in using a larger then required gauge. The loads between the switch and ACR are going to be based on the alternator's output and cable length. The gauge required for between the battery(s) and switch, would be dependent upon the loads drawing off that battery(s) through the switch. 

Don't disagree.  BUT... this era of malibu was on the bleeding edge of having enough wire to pass the required current for the length on its best day brand new out of the factory.  Now 15 years later, there's bound to be some corrosion (especially looking at the OP's pics).  Yes, the length of wire will be short and the current loss minimal.  But even a slight drop in ability to pass current may compromise an already at-its-limit wiring scheme.  So why add even a theoretical bottleneck if you don't have to.  Runs are short so cost difference between 4awg and 2awg is minimal.

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24 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

Don't disagree.  BUT... this era of malibu was on the bleeding edge of having enough wire to pass the required current for the length on its best day brand new out of the factory.  Now 15 years later, there's bound to be some corrosion (especially looking at the OP's pics).  Yes, the length of wire will be short and the current loss minimal.  But even a slight drop in ability to pass current may compromise an already at-its-limit wiring scheme.  So why add even a theoretical bottleneck if you don't have to.  Runs are short so cost difference between 4awg and 2awg is minimal.

I did not advocate for any particular gauge of wire, simply offered some advice for him to figure out if any existing cable was sufficient and what gauge is needed for any new cabling. Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish. 

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@shawndoggy. The 10 amp on the ground to the ACR, can I put a 60 amp there?  Can't seem to find anything smaller locally.  Trying to finish this up today.

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1.)  Can I use a fuse bigger than 10 amp on the ground from the ACR to the stereo battery?  

2.) Do I have the correct labeling on the picture?

Screenshot_20200531-132512_Gallery.jpg

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9 hours ago, Moondawg101 said:

@shawndoggy. The 10 amp on the ground to the ACR, can I put a 60 amp there?  Can't seem to find anything smaller locally.  Trying to finish this up today.

The ONLY ground to the ACR is the coil control. A 16ga wire is all thats need and 10A is 2X whats needed. 60A will certainly make for some cool smoke and light display of there is ever a failure. 

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19 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

FWIW I have never fused a ground wire. 

So the 10 amp fuse from the ACR to the battery on the schematic isn't necessary?

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7 minutes ago, Moondawg101 said:

So the 10 amp fuse from the ACR to the battery on the schematic isn't necessary?

Haha I’m not saying that. And the more I think of it, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have one side of the acr circuit fused. (If like me you are NOT fusing the input to the acr). As I think about my own implementation I think fusing the ground side might make sense from an abundance of caution. 
 

I’m thinking of something like this (link for example, you can go run to autozone for a single pack right now)  

Recoil 10 Pack ATC/ATO Inline 12AWG Fuse Holder with 10pcs 15A 20A Fuses (FH12-10) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WRQ71P6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wSt1EbBSEYVWV

Edited by shawndoggy
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